


Ace Meets World

by RainbowArches



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aromantic Characters, Aromantic Relationships, Asexual Characters, Asexual Relationships, Drabbles, I Believe in Jasper Sitwell, Multi, Queerplatonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-03-09 02:47:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 6,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3233393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainbowArches/pseuds/RainbowArches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where everyone is asexual and/or aromantic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Peggy/Angie

"So you’ve never done it with anyone?"

"Nope?"

"Ever?"

"Never."

"There’s never been a single person who’s got you excited and tingly?"

"Not in the way you’re talking about."

"So what do you do with a guy?"

"Anything else."

"And they’re okay with that?"

"Well…"

"I didn’t think so. I never met a guy who was okay with just being friends or didn’t mind not going further than kissing. Sometimes I wish I could flirt with whoever I want whenever I want without it being taken as an invitation. Doesn’t have to be a guy, of course, but it’s so hard to tell with girls. Except you, and now I feel like a hypocrite for prying all the time."

"Angie, it’s alright. Calm down."

"Now I get why you’re always avoiding me. I must be so annoying."

"Of course not. How could you have known?"

"I hate that everyone expects me to be a certain way so I should have known better, but here I am, doing the same thing to you."

"Calm down, I’m not angry. Besides, it’s not really your fault. I haven’t exactly been forthcoming about a lot of things."

"That’s true."

"Let’s make it up to each other. I’ll buy dinner, you buy the show?"

"Are you asking me out on a date? Wow, English. I think that’s the first time you volunteered to spend time with me."

"I’m sorry. I have been rather aloof, haven’t I?"

"Yeah, that’s definitely one word for it."

"Is that a no?"

"Are you kidding? After all the effort I put in getting this far? I’ll pick you up at seven."

 


	2. Edwin/Anna

“Here are the newest newlyweds! Welcome back,” Howard greeted, clasping Edwin’s hand and kissing Anna on the cheek. “How was the honeymoon? Didn’t run into any trouble, I hope?”

“Oh no, no trouble. We had a nice quiet time all around.”

“Not too quiet, I hope,” Howard said with a wink and a nudge.

Edwin blushed. “Ha! Yes, well…” His mind went to the mornings he and Anna spent curled up together in their pajamas, sharing a fruit bowl and the crossword.

“Ha ha! Jarvis, you dog. You watch him, Anna. He plays shy but he’s got a smooth tongue, this one.”

“Oh, I’m well aware, sir,” Anna said. She was slightly better at hiding it, but she thought fondly of all the kisses they’d exchanged instead of sightseeing like they’d planned.

“I bet you are!” He flung his arms around their shoulders and led them inside their new house. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you two rest up. Just wanted to make sure you got home alright. How do you like your new place?”

“Oh, it’s lovely!” Anna exclaimed, running to the doorway and peeking into the next room.

“Thought you’d appreciate the traditional cottage look.”

“We love it! Don’t we, Edwin?”

“We certainly do,” said Edwin, putting the luggage down so he could take Anna’s hand when she returned. “Thank you, sir. You really didn’t have to.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wanted to.”

“We can’t thank you enough,” said Anna.

“Don’t mention it, love. Anything you need, just ask. Now I’ll let you two get settled. Be good, kids.” More winking.

“Good bye, Mister Stark.”

Edwin and Anna watched him go with amused smiles. Anna turned to her husband.

“Are we really going to let him keep thinking that we actually, you know, engage in…”

“I think that would be best. The poor boy would be so disappointed if he knew otherwise.”


	3. Clint/Natasha

Natasha was sure she was having a heart attack. She thought he understood. She thought _she_ understood. She told him the sort of relationship she wanted; a friendship that involved sex. He said he was after the same thing. They agreed that they loved each other, that they were closer to each other than to anyone else. Let’s not ruin it by dating or getting married; that’s not what the sex meant.

She stared wide-eyed at Clint, who was down on one knee, presenting a small velvet box to her.

"Natasha?”

Oh God.

“Will you do me the honour…”

He opened the box.

Here we go.

“Of continuing to do what you’ve been doing with me in exactly the same way for the rest of our lives?”

She blinked.

A little silver arrow sat in the box. She picked it up. It was attached to a chain that would just fit around her neck. He grinned.

“Oh, thank God! Yes, of course, you asshole! Help me put this on.”

Getting to his feet was a struggle with all the laughing he was doing.

“You should have seen your face!”

“Shut up. That was a mean joke.”

“I’m sorry. You’re adorable, you know that?” He fastened the necklace.

“And you’re a jerk. I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	4. Jemma & Mack

“Bobbi asked me to talk to you.”

“Oh? Why?”

“She thinks I can help you sort out this relationship stuff.”

“Oh. I thought she knew that was private.”

“I thought so too.”

“Anyway, there’s not really anything to sort out.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“I’m not in a relationship.”

“Sure you are. Just not the kind you mean when you say relationship.”

“Well, yes, but…”

“What would you call the thing you had with Fitz?”

“Is now really the time to talk about this?”

“Are you busy?”

“No.”

“Neither am I. Bobbi’s afraid you’re about to have a crisis or something.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah. And if you’re really uncomfortable talking about this, say so. But have you ever considered that maybe you just don’t like the romantic aspect?”

“Who doesn’t like the romantic aspect?”

“…”

“Oh. Sorry, that was rude.”

“It’s okay.”

“But just because romance hasn’t worked in the past doesn’t mean it never will.”

“No, you’re right. But when do relationships usually stop working for you?”

“…oh.”

“Am I on the right track?”

“Maybe.”

“It’s called aromantic. And it’s awesome. But no pressure.”

“It doesn’t get lonely?”

“Nah. Have you ever felt lonely just because you weren’t dating?”

“No.”

“Neither have I. And I’m not saying you have to identify the same as me, but once I figured it out it saved me a hell of a lot of trouble.”

“I’ll think about it. Mack? Can we talk about this more later?”

“Definitely.”

“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. I’d really like it if we could be friends.”

“No worries. I didn’t come here just because Bobbie asked me to, you know.”


	5. Maria/Victoria

“There must be a rule against what we’re doing,” Victoria said.

“Eating spaghetti?” Maria picked another unwanted meatball off of Victoria’s plate.

“The whole thing.”

“We’re not dating, we’re not having sex, we have no intention of doing either of those things; we’re good. There are no rules against getting close.”

“I think if people knew the exact nature of our relationship they’d make the rules work against us.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. Do you think we’re the only ones?”

“We’re not?”

“Of course not. People have to keep their mental health somehow, and no one seems to put any faith in therapists.”

Victoria raised an eyebrow. “I’m your therapist?”

Maria snorted. “No. You’re my net.”

“That’s the cute version of therapist.”

“Yep.”


	6. Trip & Skye

Trip and Skye’s favorite thing to do together- and they often told each other this- was to sit and joke about everything. They could have very lengthy conversations where not a word either of them said was serious. They liked to just sit and bask in each other’s sarcasm, especially with an audience. They were talkers, but never about anything important, not when they could be making fun of stuff instead.

What they didn’t tell each other but knew anyway was how much they liked to look at each other. They admired each other for the way they were naturally put together, and for the way they put themselves together. Skye’s shining eyes, her mouth, the way her hair framed her face, the general shape of her. Trip’s bright smile, his neatly trimmed beard, the way his muscles complimented him but didn’t dominate his physique. They were beautiful people, and they appreciated that about each other. When they had the time they were children, and when they didn’t they were art. They were always engaged in each other, in one way or another.


	7. Felix&Claire

“Are you married?”

He side eyes her the way he always does when she cheerfully asks personal questions out of the blue. It’s milder than the looks he gives Sitwell, if only because Sitwell would be unbearable if he knew Felix didn’t find him that annoying, and Claire wasn’t so annoying at all (he just didn’t want them to up their ante).

“No.” He didn’t have to answer, but she’d drop it quicker if he did.

“Why not?”

“An oversight in my programming.”

She looked puzzled, and admittedly it wasn’t a good contribution to the Robot Blake collection.

“Don’t you wish you had someone to go home to at the end of the day?”

“You mean I need more people to answer to?”

She glared and opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again and shrugged. “It’s not for everyone I guess.”

Felix gulped down the dregs of his coffee and winced. “If someone learns to make decent coffee I might make an exception.”


	8. Nick/Phil

Phil pushed himself into Nick’s side, slipped his arm under Nick’s shirt to clutch at the sparse hair on his chest, pressed his face into Nick’s neck. Nick was barely aware of Phil’s fitful attempts to get closer than possible, like he was trying to crawl inside him. He was more or less asleep at this point, lulled by Phil’s breathing and stroking. Phil wasn’t having such an easy time. Nick let him pull and claw a while longer until finally tightening his arms around him and rolling them over, molding their bodies together like Phil wanted, tucked safely under Nick’s chest so he could sleep.


	9. Jasper & Akela

“We caught our first bad guy together!” Jasper cheered. He held his fist out and Akela bumped it.

“I like working with you,” she said. “And that’s not something I say a lot.”

“Yeah, I heard.” He held his hand to his chest mock solemnly. “I’m honoured.”

Akela bounced on her toes restlessly. “Now what? I want to do something.”

“That’s the adrenaline. It tends to hang around for a bit. I know a great way to work it off, if you’re interested.” He smirked suggestively.

 

“This is fun! Why do you even have this?”

“Everyone needs a trampoline. It’s the most basic piece of furniture, along with foosball tables and bean bag chairs.”


	10. Steve/Sam

“Like this?”

“Yeah, just like that. Perfect.”

Sam folded his arms on the pillow and laid his head on them. He hoped when Steve said quick that he meant quick. He wanted the picture to be done before his arms fell asleep and the straps cut into his shoulders. That said, he felt like a model, laying here in the cool white sheets, Steve’s attention all on him, praising him and admiring him.

Sam looked angelic like this. Steve was pretty pleased with the wings he’d fashioned for him. They drooped around him slightly, like they were resting. He could barely see the straps. Sam looked like a real sleeping angel.

“Can I pull the sheet up a bit?”

“However you’re most comfortable.”

“I don’t think I can reach it with these things in the way.”

“I gotcha.” Steve hitched the sheet up and let it sprawl around Sam’s waist. “How’s that.”

“Good. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He picked up his pencil and got to work.


	11. Fitz/Mack

“So, no exes, huh?”

“Nah.”

“Do you know how many girls your adorable face could snatch up?”

Fitz blushed and stammered the way he always did when Mack flirted-not-flirted with him. “Yeah, well, I don’t… I’d rather just… build things.”

“Don’t want to play the dating game?”

“No. Not usually. It’s just not a thing that happens.”

“Except with Simmons?”

“And you. I mean…”

Mack grinned. “I was wondering when all this flirting would pay off. Don’t worry, Turbo. I just want to build stuff with you too.”


	12. Jasper/Anne

This was exciting. Jasper and Anne were home at the same time for the first time in a month. They’d been kept impossibly busy and missed each other terribly, but now they finally had an evening to themselves. They’d fantasized about this moment for weeks, how they would spend their evening together, and now they could finally make it a reality. They couldn’t wait to change into their pajamas, put on a silly movie, stuff their faces with popcorn and chips, and then crawl into bed and read to each other until they fell asleep. It was their favorite bedtime routine, and one that they needed to indulge in right now.


	13. Pepper/Tony/Rhodey

Pepper was jolted awake as Rhodey dove over her legs and tackled Tony off the bed. She struggled out of the tangle of blankets to see what the hell they were fighting about at two in the morning. She peered over the side of the bed and found them laughing and wrestling on the floor.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Sorry,” said Rhodey. “Did we wake you?”

“No. I wasn’t asleep like a normal person.”

“Oh, good.”

Tony shoved Rhodey’s head out of the way to look up at her. “Pepper, who has the cooler name?”

She rolled her eyes. “This again? Seriously?”

“It’s an important question!”

“Then sort it out somewhere else or come back to bed and go to sleep.”

They slumped on top of each other for a moment, considering their options, and decided to crawl back into bed with her.

“Thank you,” she said. “You both have cool names.”

“Which one do you like better?”

She sighed. “Actually, they’re both stupid. Goodnight.”

It was quiet for a few minutes, and then they were nudging her again.

“Which one’s stupider?”


	14. Thor/Jane

At the first mention of consummation Jane started having a panic attack. Luckily it was just the two of them. She didn’t think she could take being swarmed by concerned well-meaning giants just now. It was just Thor, lines forming on his brow when he noticed Jane’s shallow breathing.

“Jane? Are you not well? What ails you?”

“C- consummate? You… you said…”

Thor rubbed gentle circles on her back. “Breathe, love. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“I don’t want… you said you didn’t…”

“You do not wish to consummate?” He looked hurt now.

“No! I told you, I can’t even… and you said you didn’t either!” She was embarrassed, reacting like this, and she felt bad for putting that look on Thor’s face, but she thought they understood each other.

“You regret our union.” He looked so downcast.

Jane swallowed around the lump in her throat and tried to put words into an actual sentence.

“I don’t regret anything. But you never told me we’d have to consummate.”

“Well, no, I suppose I didn’t. But I thought that was a custom our worlds had in common. Had I known it would upset you so I would not have mentioned it. I will call off the feast. We will think of something else.”

“Feast? Consummate means feast on Asgard?”

“Consummate means many things on Asgard. I thought a feast would be suitable.”

“Oh! I thought… Oh, thank God! Thank _you!_ A feast! That sounds fun. I like it. Let’s do that.”

Thor beamed. “Wonderful!”


	15. Bruce/Betty

Betty was right; this was relaxing. The sun had been hiding behind the clouds most of the day, so he could gaze up at the sky and watch the clouds float by. He waved his arms, feeling the water ripple around him.

“Is this helping?” Betty asked.

She floated closer to him. He let his fingers link with hers.

“Yeah.”


	16. Mike/Skye

“You’re beautiful.”

Mike traced a finger a finger down the side of her face, not touching her, not letting his callouses scratch her skin.  He watched sadly as the tears rolled down her cheeks even though she was no longer sobbing, wanting to brush them away, not wanting to scare her.

“Don’t be scared of yourself,” he said.

Skye met his eyes and folded his hand in hers, pressing his knuckles to her cheek, drying her tears on them.

“You’re beautiful,” she said. “Don’t be scared of yourself.”


	17. Victoria&Izzy

“Everything’s so damn pink,” Victoria grumbled as she strode into the break room.

“You like pink,” Izzy reminded her.

“Not that much. I’ve been tripping over it all day.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and joined Izzy on the couch with a tired sigh.

“Not a fan of Valentine’s Day?”

“Not really.” Victoria pointed at the dish of candies on the coffee table. “What are those?”

“Conversation hearts. Try one.”

Victoria popped one into her mouth. She grimaced and swallowed with great effort.

Izzy laughed. “You okay?”

“Those are awful.” She took three more and dropped them into her coffee.

“Not that awful, apparently.”

“I always take sugar in my coffee. I don’t want them to go to waste.”

“You’re supposed to read them.”

“Is there anything on them you haven’t already told me?”

“Probably not. But here.” She sifted through the dish and came up with one that said I Luv U. “Take this anyway. From one friend to another.”

Victoria took it. “Thank you. You’re not going to make me eat this, are you?”

“No.”

“Good. Are there any cinnamon hearts? I like those.”

Izzy smirked. “I had a feeling you would.” She pulled a bag of cinnamon hearts out of her pocket and handed them to her. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Victoria smiled. “I love you. You’re a good friend.”

“I know.”


	18. Phil/Audrey

Audrey's music wasn't simply music. It was something else. It was art, it was affection, it was a kiss, a caress, an embrace. It was her heart, mind and soul. It was all her love in a deep rich melody that was all his, that crept into his bones and made him feel every note. It made him love her back, just as passionate and fierce. He gave everything back, and she felt it, in his attention and admiration and care and concern; in his unwavering investment in her music.

 


	19. Phil/Melinda

Melinda paused in the middle of filing. She could feel Phil’s dopey smile on her back from ten feet away. “Can I help you?” she asked without turning around.

“Nope. Just keep doing what you’re doing?”

She raised an eyebrow. “By myself?” She shut the drawer and turned to face him. “You just going to sit there and watch me file and read?”

“I like watching you be competent.”

“I’m always competent.”

“And I always enjoy watching.”

She smirked. “Well, my competence isn’t making a dent in this research, so how about you take a turn and let me watch.”

“But my competence isn’t as good as yours.”

“I’d still like to watch. Come on, get to it.”

Phil sighed and made his way to the cabinet while Melinda took his place on the stool. “Fine. I guess I can show off if you really want me to.”

She rolled her eyes but perched her chin on her hands with a smile as she settled in to watch him quickly sort through all the relevant reading material with business-like precision. They could watch each other apply this sort of determination and know-how to anything and never get bored. Competence was hot.


	20. Raina&Koenig

“Why do you do that?”

“What?”

“Pretend you’re robots?”

“Because it’s funny. Do you see their faces?”

“Yes, but why do it in the first place?”

“It actually started in high school when we were the only ones with no sexual inclination to speak of and some jerk made a clone joke. So we ran with it. It’s ours now.”

“I’m not sexually inclined either but I don’t try to convince everyone I was grown in a lab.”

“You should. It’s a lot of fun.”

“Maybe soon I can say things like that without lying. Maybe I’ll be able to asexually reproduce or regenerate cycle after cycle.”

“I never said I was lying. That was you. I just said it was fun.”

"You said the joke started with a high school kid."

"How do you know I'm not lying about that?"

"...I can't decide if you're fun or just really annoying."


	21. Sharon/Natasha

Natasha was a hard teacher. She was mean. She didn’t fight fair. And she jumped right in with a smirk, barely saying a word except to critique your stance or swing or something, in a quiet but sharp snap with barely a breath. Sharon hated and loved these sparring sessions with Natasha. She said she wanted to learn from the best and was promptly sent her way. It was long and tiring and frustrating, and Natasha didn’t really give feedback afterwards, which Sharon found unusual. Plus they’d been at this for two years and while she knew she had improved, she didn’t feel like she was making a lot of progress compared to Natasha, who was still leagues better. Sharon mentioned this and Natasha just smirked wider, and didn’t say anything, which irritated Sharon to no end.

It was all worth it, though, for that one day (out of what would become a total of three) where she knocked Natasha onto the mat. The look of shock on her face, followed by the smirk that was satisfied and impressed for once, was the greatest feeling ever.

“You cheated,” said Natasha. “You’re learning.”

Sharon grinned smugly.

Natasha stood up. “Again.”

It became fun after that, even though Sharon still lost most of time. It felt less like a drill and more like a game (which she took very seriously, of course). It fueled her. The ache became pleasant and encouraging. She looked forward to it, to improving, to the contact, to the adrenaline, to the afterglow. And she found Natasha wasn’t so bad a teacher after all.


	22. Nick/Rhodey

Rhodey set the hammock up to get Nick to stay longer. He didn’t expect it to be so effective. In fact, it was a little too effective. Nick stayed longer, sure, because he was asleep. “Hey, Rhodey. How’s it going, sweetheart? Got anything to drink?” Then he’d throw himself in the hammock and he’d be snoring before Rhodey got back with his beer.

It sucked, because he looked so damn cozy lying there, but he was too nervous to test the weight limit by crawling on top of him. And he was seriously considering taking the thing down again for the lack of attention he was getting. He wouldn’t, though, because he slept in it every night now and he’d miss it.

Rhodey put a roast in the oven and sure enough the smell coaxed Nick awake. He sat up, putting one foot on the floor for support, and Rhodey squeezed into the space that was left for him, crossing his ankles on Nick’s stomach.

“You cooking?”

“Yep. Thought that would get your attention.”

Nick smiled and leaned back, swinging the hammock gently with his leg. “Were you getting lonely?”

“A little. I’m starting to think I’ve got some competition with this thing.”

“Why’d you put it up, then?”

“I thought you two would get along.”

“Of course we do; it smells like you.”

“ _Oh!_ I get why you’re so attracted to it now. Yeah, I can’t blame you for that.”

“Glad I got you to see reason.”


	23. Sam/Steve/Natasha

“You have a record player,” Natasha laughed. ”A real one, like what grandparents have.”

“I also own a laptop and an iPod, so I feel I’m allowed some keepsakes to balance it out.”

“Put something on,” said Sam.

“What kind of something?”

“Your favorite something. As long as it’s danceable.” He turned mischievous, promising eyes on Natasha.

Steve smiled and found something slow. Sam took Natasha’s hand and led her to the middle of the living room, swaying her gently to the music.

“I want one with you next,” he said to Steve.

“Oh, no, I’m good. You two have fun. I’ll just watch.”

“Oh, come on,” Natasha said as Sam twirled her. “Don’t be shy. We know what we’re doing. All you have to do is follow.”

“If you can manage that much,” Sam teased.

Steve laughed. “I will do my best.”


	24. Bruce/Natasha

“I think my legs are asleep.”

Bruce sighed. “Your whole body should be asleep. That’s the point.”

“I’m asleep in a bad way. You know, the annoying tingly way? Like when you sit on your feet too long?”

“You shouldn’t be sitting on your feet.”

“I’m not.” Natasha unfolded out of position with a huff to lie on the mat. “Bruce,  I know this works well for you and that’s great, but it doesn’t have a nice effect on me.”

“You like ballet, right? Doesn’t that relax you?”

“Yes, because there’s movement involved.”

Bruce smiled apologetically. “Well, you tried. That’s all I wanted. Go do ballet if you want.”

“I’d kind of like to stay here, if that’s alright. You can keep doing what you’re doing. Seeing you relaxed helps me relax.”

He raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Really?”

“No, I just think you’re cute.”

Bruce blushed.

“Go on,” said Natasha. “Do your thing. Maybe I’ll try again later.”

He smiled and did as he was told.


	25. Nick/Steve

There was no word to fully describe Nick and Steve’s relationship. At work they respected each other, sometimes they admired each other, but it was always a coin toss whether or not they liked each other. They liked each other when they didn’t have to discuss something. But when they did have to discuss something, more likely than not it would turn into a fight. In those cases, at the end of the day they would go to the bar and get a drink, and discuss hypothetically the things they’d been fighting about- methodology, ideology, morality- without the professional backdrop. Then they’d go to Steve’s apartment and have sex. It happened so naturally they barely even thought about it. Except for when they did.

There wasn’t really a word for it. They weren’t friends; they weren’t lovers. They were colleagues, but this wasn’t about that. There was an underlying- not affection, necessarily, but assurance. It was about feeling like they had each other’s loyalty, not just on a professional level, but on a personal level. Maybe. They didn’t know. But it was important and fun and it seemed to work.


	26. Audrey&Pepper

Audrey was a breath of fresh air, and Pepper needed that more often than she got it. After too much Tony, too much paperwork, too much attention and too much excitement, she needed a spare moment when she could just breathe and really enjoy something. Audrey probably needed that too, sometimes. Music didn’t feel like work to her, but there was such a thing as over-rehearsing, and Pepper was more than happy to step in and remind her to eat and sleep, especially when Audrey took her to ballets or movies or concerts when she felt like she was about to snap.

They didn’t see each other too often and they didn’t keep in touch except to make plans to get together. That’s why they liked it. They were like each other’s holiday. When they needed time away from life but didn’t want time to themselves, they needed time with each other, and they were always happy to provide.


	27. Nick/Clint

Nick spent fifteen minutes knocking on the door before giving up and sitting on the porch to wait. He could easily break in, but the last time he did that Clint got mad and threatened to never invite him back. Nick didn’t believe him, but he didn’t want to risk it. Though if Clint wasn’t back by the time it got dark, Nick would let himself in anyway.

He was starting to wonder if Clint was spending the summer elsewhere when his truck pulled up. Nick hated that truck. It was old and dirty and unreliable, but he couldn’t be happier to see it now. After a year chasing Hydra on his own, anything friendly and familiar was a sight for sore eyes, even that rusty old vehicle that smelled like stale cigarettes and fast food (Clint indulged in neither of those things often enough for the truck to smell like that; so gross).

Clint hopped out and strolled towards him casually, as if he’d only just seen him yesterday.

“You locked me out,” Nick said when Clint was close enough to hear.

“There’s a spare key in the garden,” said Clint. “Didn’t you think to look for one? I hope this is just senior absent mindedness and not the bad guys messing with your brain.”

“You don’t have spare keys. You prefer to lose your keys immediately and break a window to get back inside and then never ever board it up.”

“Yeah, well I’m domesticated now. I have two keys for everything. You can tell by how I have windows again and not just wooden patches.”

Nick smirked and stood up to greet him properly, pulling him in for a hug and a kiss.

“How have you been?” he asked.

“Meh,” Clint shrugged. “You?”

“I’m hungry.”

“Good. You can give me a hand with the groceries.”

Nick groaned. “I was hoping we could nap first.”

“No. You’re helping.”

Nick kissed him again. “Good to be back.”


	28. Bobbi & Mack

Rather than take the next flight out, Mack and Bobbi went back to their motel suite. They had one more night there and after finishing an exhausting mission early, they decided to take advantage of it. They’d changed into their pajamas and were sprawled on the bed, bags of chips, popcorn, liquorice and beer scattered between them. They alternated between fighting over the remote, channel flipping through game shows, talk shows, and old movies, neither of them sure what they wanted to watch, and ignoring the television altogether in favor of chatting animatedly about this, that and the other thing, until they started to crash. They fell into a daze, staring with blank, glazed eyes at the T.V. They’d thrown the empty beer cans onto the floor, but they still ended up falling asleep on the snack bags, the chips crunching and crumbling underneath them as they stretched. They promised themselves they’d clean up in the morning but, at the moment, they didn’t care at all about the mess.


	29. Pepper & Maria

“You look uncomfortable. Don’t tell me you’ve never done this before?”

“Only when I have to.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know. Special occasions.”

“You’ve never done this for fun?”

“Not really my thing.”

“Come on. It’s everybody’s thing.”

“Not mine.”

“This isn’t at all relaxing for you?”

“Not really. If anything, it annoys me a little.”

“Huh. I think you’re the first woman I’ve heard to feel that way.”

“Sorry, don’t want to spoil your fun or anything…”

“No, no. I’m sorry I made you do this. I shouldn’t have assumed anything.”

“It’s just all the pampering makes me uncomfortable.”

“That’s fine. At least now I know. What’s a fun, relaxing night for you?”

“I don’t know. Pajamas, movies, and popcorn.”

“Sounds fun. Let’s do that next. I think my hair’s almost dry.”

“I’m just going to let this lady finish my nails. You know, I don’t really mind hanging out at the spa. I just don’t like having a bunch of people work on me.”

“We’ll be out of here in ten minutes. Promise.”

“Thank you.”


	30. Gordon/Kara

She heard the _whoosh_ outside and opened the door before he had a chance to knock.

“You don’t have to knock every time. Feel free to… apparate right inside.”

“Last time I did that, you shot me, remember?” Gordon said, stepping inside.

“ _At_ you. I was edgy.”

“Sure.”

"I didn't even know you then."

"Sure." They were both smirking, because that was one of their fondest memories together. They were weird like that.

Kara rinsed the last of the dishes and put them away before joining Gordon at the kitchen table. He was pushing his chair back with his foot so that he was resting on the back two legs. She nudged him with her foot and he eased the chair back onto four legs. She knew she didn’t have to worry about him falling- his reflexes were fast enough that he wouldn’t hit the ground- but it still made her nervous.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment- a new thing for them, comfortable silence. It was nice. Kind of like officially changing their status to “in a relationship,” only they weren’t going to do that. That would take all the fun out of it. Better to just have these fuzzy feelings and let them stew for as long as possible.

“So, what brings you here?” Kara asked. “Am I relocating or have you brought leftovers?”

Gordon shrugged. “No. Just checking in.” He raised a finger as though to stall an argument. “That’s checking _in,_ not _up._ There is a difference.”

Kara smiled. Apparently they were also passed the phase of needing an excuse to see each other. Things were getting serious, she joked to herself.

“That’s nice of you,” she said.

“Next time I’ll come with conversation cue cards or something.”

“Most people start with ‘how are you? What have you been up to? I hope no threats have been made on your life while I was away.’”

“Ah, yes, of course. Thank you. How are you?”

“I’m fine. Seems to be a pretty good hiding place. Haven’t had any visitors.”

Gordon smiled sadly. “I’m sorry you can’t come with me.”

“It’s okay. I understand, really. I’m not complaining. Just don’t be a stranger, okay?”

He nodded. “Next time I’ll bring leftovers.”

He stood up, taking the long way to the door so that he could squeeze her shoulder gently. She patted his hand while she still could.

“See ya,” he said, and was gone.


	31. Rhodey/Sam

“Your friends are weird,” Sam said.

He and Rhodey were doing their best impressions of wallflowers, each with a drink in their hand, observing the party. Tony was trying to see if his suit could make punch by itself. Steve was doing karaoke to ‘90s pop songs while Natasha accompanied with ballet.

“Yeah, well yours are weirder.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Everyone else seemed to enjoy these scenes, but Sam and Rhodey were partied out.

“Bedroom?”

“Bedroom?”

Time to have their own fun.


	32. Kara/Akela

It took Akela a minute to figure out where the smell of bacon was coming from. Then she realized Kara wasn’t in bed. She got up, dragging the blanket with her, and went to the kitchen where Kara was making breakfast.

“Smells good,” Akela said, standing behind her and wrapping her arms around her waist, covering them both with the blanket.

Kara smiled. “Thanks.” It was a bit of a struggle, freeing her arms so that she could use the spatula. “I hope that means I’m doing it right.”

“Ever cook before?”

Kara shrugged. “I must have. I just couldn’t remember if I enjoyed it or not.”

“And do you?”

“As it turns out… no.”

Akela laughed. “Neither do I. I guess we’ll just have to take it in shifts. Or mooch off the neighbours.”

Kara turned the stove off and took the pans off the burners. “Well I took today’s shift you’re taking tomorrow.”

“If I must.”


	33. Natasha & Steve

“What is it with you and my love life?” Steve asked.

He sounded annoyed. Perhaps Natasha had pushed too far.

She shrugged. “You seem lonely. I want to help.”

Steve sighed, softening a little. “Why don’t you just invite me out for burgers or something then?”

She shrugged again. “Don’t you to get back into the dating game?”

He huffed a laugh. “Can’t say I was ever really _in_ the dating game. What does it matter to you?”

“It _doesn’t_ matter to me. Like, at all. I just thought it was supposed to, being your friend and all.”

“Well, I’m not too worried about dating right now. Though you might like to know that I asked Sharon out.”

Natasha smiled. “Yeah? How’d it go?”

“Pretty well, I think. So are you going to ask me to hang out or what?”

Natasha smirked. “Hang out? Steve, I’m impressed. You’re picking up the young folk lingo pretty fast.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Come on, Romanov.”

She laughed. “Okay, okay. You want to go get burgers or something?”

“Sure. Sounds great.”


	34. Andrew Garner/Melinda May

When they come out to each other it’s the best feeling in the world, like the completion of something perfect. They get that feeling about a lot of things, like when they buy their house, when they marry, when they decide to have a baby. But they come out to each other and no one else, so it’s different. They don’t trust anyone else to understand. Melinda’s friends are too well-meaning. They’d be so enthusiastic and supportive but say all the wrong things. It’s embarrassing just thinking about it. And Andrew knows his peers too well. No way is he telling his psychiatrist friends. They’d have a field day.

They are each other’s favorite person in the world. They belong together. They’re not in love but they love each other deeply. And though they find each other attractive, sex has nothing to do with that.

Really, why would they want to tell anyone else? Maybe they would someday, but it isn’t important right now. It isn’t anyone else’s business. Knowing this about each other is all that matters.


	35. Sharon/Steve

Lunch breaks look like this: They pick a café. Usually it’s the same one. It’s close to work, quiet, cheap-ish. They’ve become favorites of a waitress there. Sometimes they’ll go someplace different if they have a particular craving. They always have coffee. They never have doughnuts (there’s plenty of those in the break room). They like the blueberry muffins and the brown betty. Sometimes they’ll get scones or Danishes. They almost always order the same as each other. They don’t talk much. Usually they catch up on their work. They ask how their day has gone so far and they’ll talk about upcoming missions (phrased like vacation plans because they’re in public). They’ll talk about what they read in the paper that morning. Mostly they’re quiet and play footsie under the table.

Date nights look like this: Sharon on the bean bag chair between Steve’s legs watching MuchMusic Countdown while Steve styles her hair in pigtails or a French braid or whatever he feels like doing. There’s two glasses of fizzy lemonade or iced tea on the coffee table because Steve doesn’t see the point in alcohol anymore and Sharon only drinks on girls’ night out. They talk about what’s on T.V., what they want to do that weekend, what they’ve been reading, what ridiculous things their friends did. Sometimes Steve bends down and plants a kiss on her shoulder and Sharon grabs his hand and presses a kiss to his palm, leaving a mark that’s pink or glossy depending on what she’d put on earlier. They’ll sink into either end of the couch, legs entwined, and play battleship, cards, whatever.

Sundays look like this: Sharon goes to Steve’s place early in the morning for breakfast. There’s eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, fruit salad, orange juice and tea. Steve has two or three helpings of everything. Sharon is a very light breakfast eater and sticks with toast and orange juice. Steve’s on seconds by the time she starts on her tea. They can’t always make it to church. If they can they have ice cream after. If they can’t they take a quick walk before work. But they always have breakfast together. They read the news. They look for new cake recipes to try the next time they have a few hours. Steve shows her his new sketches. She shows him the cute dog videos she took on her most recent visit to the pet store.

Everything is easy and comfortable between them and their time together is their favorite time of any day.


End file.
